For Christians: Saints and VIPs from various Christian traditions?

[Aiden]

This question is related to my other post about the liturgical calendar, but I think it's different enough to deserve a post of its own.

 

I grew up in an evangelical church, in a denomination where many people honestly believed that Christians from other evangelical denominations may or may not be Christians, and those from non-evangelical traditions certainly were not Christians. I never really bought into that, but as a result of being raised around so many who did believe that, I learned very little about church history or about Christian traditions other than my own.

 

I now consider myself a nondenominational Christian who feels most comfortable in evangelical churches, but who recognizes that my lack of comfort with other traditions stems more from lack of familiarity than from any "wrongness" on the part of other traditions. I view Christians from other traditions as just that--Christians from other traditions, with different backgrounds from me, who worship in different ways than me, but who are not wrong for worshiping God differently from us.

 

I would like to foster this attitude in myself and eventually in my daughter. I think one way to get started, to increase my familiarity with other traditions and to introduce my daughter to the idea that Christians are Christians, no matter how we worship, is to begin learning about the saints and other important people from the histories of various traditions. I would love for the day to come in our homeschool when I tell my daughter, "Today is a very important day, a day when Saint So-and-So of Tradition X is remembered. Today we're going to learn about and celebrate his life," and then a week or two later say that same thing about Saint This-and-That of Tradition Y, and later about Not-a-Saint-Such-and-Such of Tradition Z, in each case talking about the person's life and service to God and how that person impacted his or her community and future generations, and how that person is honored by a certain segment of Christianity, all the while pointing out that the person served God and had an impact and it doesn't matter that the person is not considered a saint or a VIP by our own tradition.

 

In order to see that day in our homeschool, I need to educate myself about various saints and VIPs from various traditions.

 

So, finally, my question: who in your tradition is considered a saint or a VIP? When and what is done to honor that person? What are your favorite resources for learning or teaching about that individual? My initial concern is educating myself, and then educating my daughter later, but if the resources you suggest are appropriate for young children, that's all good, too!

 

I also am interested in resources for learning about church history--all traditions of Christianity--but at this point, I'm really interested in broad overviews rather than details. For example, I know that the Coptic Orthodox Church was begun in Egypt by St. Paul (I think it was Paul ... I'll need to look that up again) on his missionary journeys, and for now, that's enough detail about when and where and why that branch of Christianity began.

 

Thank you!

[Rosie_0801]

When I was writing my religious calendar curric, the helpful people around here helped me make a list of the V,VIPs. I'll dig it out for you...

 

January

1- Day of St Basil the Great (EO)

25- St Gregory the Theologian's Day (EO)

 

March

19- St Joseph's Day (RC)

 

April

1- St Mary of Egypt's Day (EO)

23- Saint George's Day (EO)

 

June

24- The Birth of St John the Baptist (RC)

29- St Peter and Paul the Apostles (Both)

 

July

20- Day of the Prophet Elias (EO)

 

November

8- Archangel Michael's Day (EO)

13- Saint John Chrysostom's Day (EO)

 

December

6- St Nicholas Day (Both)

 

[Chris in VA]

Again, check out the saint stories in Godly Play. You use little boxes of objects to help tell the story of the saint's life. They don't have *everybody* of course! But it's a nice resource.

[Twolittleboys]

Some major saints (or at least saints that have tradition attached to them) in the Catholic church are: St. Barbara, St. Martin of Tours, St. Benedict, St. Patrick, St. Francis, St. Christopher, St. Anthony, and St. Catherine. Of course there are many more. I would take a look at the main legends/traditions/beliefs of some of them and choose the ones you personally find the most meaningful/interesting. 

[PrincessMommy]

Thank you Rose! I remember when you were doing your research.   Aiden,  in addition to saints on the calendar within the Eastern Christian Church (EO) there is also special Feast Days that we commemorate.   These largely revolve around Christ's life and that of His Mother... since she is central to the Incarnation in our tradition.

 

There is so much written on these, that I think if I name them off and then you do a google search and add "Orthodox"  you'll find some good info. that you can share.  So here are the dates... starting from the beginning of our Liturgical Calendar (Liturgical New Year begins Sept 1st in the EO church)

 

Twelve Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church:

 

1. September 8, the Nativity of the Theotokos
2. September 14, the Exaltation of the Cross
3. November 21, the Presentation of the Theotokos
4. December 25, the Nativity of Christ/Christmas
5. January 6, the Baptism of Christ — Theophany, also called Epiphany
6. February 2, the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple
7. March 25, the Annunciation
8. The Sunday before Pascha (Easter) — the Entry into Jerusalem or Flowery/Willow/Palm Sunday
9. Forty Days after Pascha (Easter) — the Ascension of Christ
10. Fifty Days after Pascha (Easter) — Pentecost
11. August 6, the Transfiguration
12. August 15, the Dormition (Falling Asleep) of the Theotokos

I just lifted them from a site here and it looks like the links came with it.  Hopefully it worked, if not just go here to read about them:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Feasts_of_the_Orthodox_Church

 

Of course, the Feast of Feasts, Pascha (Easter), is not listed because it stand above and beyond all other feasts. 

 

Good luck.. .sounds like a lovely idea.

 

[ktgrok]

Other important people to know would be the founders of major traditions. So Luther, Knox, Calvin, Wesley, etc. 

[Alessandra]

For Episcopalians, the majority of the saints will be the same as for Roman Catholic and many shared with Orthodox.

 

Google 'Lesser Feasts and Fasts online' and you will come up with a PDF of the complete text of the book used in churches for saint's days. It has bios and prayers. Other useful books available online are Book of Common Prayer 1979 and Book of Occasional Serveices.

 

I would be tempted to go to a Catholic bookstore and pick up some saint's cards. Cards have a pic of saint in front and info on back. My kids love these. Just say to the people in the store what you have said here and they should help.

 

The main problem is narrowing down the multitude of saints! You could look at websites of your local churches to see what is celebrated in a big way.

 

HTH

 

Catholic culture is a useful website.

Orthodox Church on America has lots of info.

[Aiden]

Thank you all! I will have some googling and link-clicking to keep me occupied during my daughter's rest times for the next couple of weeks, I think. Please keep the ideas coming :)

 

 

When I was writing my religious calendar curric, the helpful people around here helped me make a list of the V,VIPs. I'll dig it out for you...

 

 

That sounds interesting--do you share that anywhere, either for free or for purchase?

[speedmom4]

Here are some of my favorite Catholic saints:

 

St. Maximilian Kolbe (WW II)

St, Therese of Lisieux

St, Ignatius of Loyola

 

We also are adding special thigs to certain feast days like Our Lady of Guadalupe. There's a great blog by a Catholic mom who tries to live the liturgical year with her family. Her website is www.catholicallyear.com.

 

Anyway, to celebrate St. Joseph on March 19th we have an Italian dinner and put flowers around the table because of a tradition the Italians have.

 

For Our Lady of Guadalupe we had a Mexican desert but next year I want to plan better and make a Mexican feast!

 

There are lots of movies about saints as well. The Song of Bernadette is a well know one which earned the lead actress an Academy award back in the 1950s. The story of St. Bernadette is well known to many Catholics and millions of people flock to Lourdes each year!

 

Good luck on your journey. It's wonderful that you're exposing your daughter to many heroes of the faith!

 

Elise in NC

[Amira]

Mormons don't officially do saints (although I've created my own liturgical calendar that includes a wide variety of people with plenty of saints from other churches and people from other faiths), but some people who might be included on a hypothetical liturgical calendar are Joseph Smith, any of the 15 men who followed him as the leader of the church, Oliver Cowdrey, Martin Harris, Mary Fielding Smith, Eliza R. Snow, Emma Hale Smith, any of the other women who have been the general Relief Society president, and Elizabeth Manning James.

 

There are other people with interesting and important stories like Helmeth Hubener who aren't VIPs, but I can point you to those if you want some.

 

My calendar also includes my ancestors and dh's back to about 1800, nearly all of who were Mormon, but they're not at all important, except to me. :)

 

Some possible significant dates could be April 6th (the date the church was restored), July 24th (Pioneer Day), March 26th (when the book of Mormon was published, May 15 (the date we believe the Aaronic Priesthood was restored), March 17th (when the Relief Society was created), and September 22nd which has quite a few events attached to it.

[Love]

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Edited November 19, 2015 by Love

[Love]

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Edited November 19, 2015 by Love

[PrincessMommy]

Other important people to know would be the founders of major traditions. So Luther, Knox, Calvin, Wesley, etc. 

 

I think this is a great idea when studying the Reformation and the time leading up to it!  She could pick a tradition (Mormans, Quakers, Anglicans, Mennonites) and do a small study on their founder fathers/mothers. 

[Guest]

Upthread, Princess Mommy listed the 12 Feasts of the Year, and added the Feast of Feasts, Pascha/Easter.    I have found great benefit in living into the seasons of the Church, and did so even when I was a Protestant.  Shaping the year by thinking about Christ and His life made a big difference in the way I approached my days.  Now that I am Orthodox, the difference in more pronounced, but I always appreciated It. 

 

One thing I did, also, was to find the saints that were honored on the days that were important to ME.  I know, I know, self-centered.  But it was something that helped me connect.  So I learned about the saints of the day for my birthday, my dh's birthday, my kid's birthday, our wedding anniversary, my parent's wedding anniversary, and so on.  It was just a way to get started.  

 

Finally, there are online sites that have "saint of the day" or "feast of the day" information.  The one I use is here:  http://oca.org/saints/livesbut there are others, as well.  There are some that feed into Facebook as well, but I don't have any of them set up for myself.  I already have a book I use to read about the saints on a daily basis.

 

I admire your interest in this.  I hit a point where I realized that I didn't know very much about the Church or anyone who wasn't a modern and it seemed to me that I was missing a lot.  I was right.  :0)

 

[Rosie_0801]

That sounds interesting--do you share that anywhere, either for free or for purchase?

 

What I have written up properly so far: http://investigatingthelandscape.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/religious-calendar-curriculum-intro.html

 

Don't even think of following it to the letter. It'd cost you a fortune.  :glare:  (Why is it my best ideas always cost a fortune? I'm glad I don't have tooooo many.  :p  )

[Sherry in OH]

In the Lutheran tradition, all believers in Jesus, dead or alive, are considered saints. Note that believers is in the broadest sense, they need not be Lutheran. (Early Lutherans considered themselves Catholic.) Luther is honored on Reformation Sunday.  On All Saints Sunday (first Sunday of November) the members of the church who died in the past year are especially remembered.

[PrincessMommy]

In the Lutheran tradition, all believers in Jesus, dead or alive, are considered saints. Note that believers is in the broadest sense, they need not be Lutheran. (Early Lutherans considered themselves Catholic.) Luther is honored on Reformation Sunday.  On All Saints Sunday (first Sunday of November) the members of the church who died in the past year are especially remembered.

 

But you do have some VIP's which the OP asked for.... such as Luther's wife, Katherine.. or Phillip Melanchthon, or Bach???

[forty-two]

Here's a link to my denomination's (Lutheran, LCMS) calendar of commemorations (includes a link to short bios): http://www.lcms.org/page.aspx?pid=506

 

And here's a link to our feasts and festivals (overlaps with your other liturgical year question): http://www.lcms.org/page.aspx?pid=435

 

All of that is under our church year information page (there's a sidebar link to Sundays and Seasons, for more liturgical year information).

[mommaduck]

A great orthodox resource http://www.goarch.org/chapel/dateceleb_view?m=12&d=21&y=2014

 

Some of my favorite Saints are St. Brigid of Kildare (shared with Catholics and Anglicans), St. Margaret of Scotland (Catholic, but not rejected by the Orthodox...a "schism" Saint in that she was born before the technical date and reposed after), St. Nectarios, St. Nicholas of Myrna, St. Moses the Black, St. Mary of Egypt, and St. Elizabeth the New Martyr (ftr, the family of the last Tzar in Russia are all considered martyred Saints), St. Herman of Alaska, and St. Xenia of Petersburg. Some of their histories are very interesting and VERY relatable.

[Sherry in OH]

But you do have some VIP's which the OP asked for.... such as Luther's wife, Katherine.. or Phillip Melanchthon, or Bach???

 

I learned most of the little I know about early Lutherans from history classes not church. 

The only times I remember Luther’s wife being mentioned was on Reformation Sundays in connection with Luther.  Bach’s hymns were sung.  He was not discussed. The Lutheran Churches I have attended were all ELCA.  

 

In sermons, Biblical persons are mentioned most often.  Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr. and other modern ‘saints’ are mentioned far more often than post-Biblical historic figures.  

[Ellie]

St Mark, one of the original 12 apostles, is the founder of the Coptic Church in Egypt. :-)

[PrincessMommy]

I learned most of the little I know about early Lutherans from history classes not church. 

The only times I remember Luther’s wife being mentioned was on Reformation Sundays in connection with Luther.  Bach’s hymns were sung.  He was not discussed. The Lutheran Churches I have attended were all ELCA.  

 

In sermons, Biblical persons are mentioned most often.  Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr. and other modern ‘saints’ are mentioned far more often than post-Biblical historic figures.  

 

oh no! That's too bad.  It makes perfect sense that Biblical people were most mentioned, but since the writers of Lutheranism and the Book of Concord shape the Lutheran doctrine, they are still important people worth learning about (IMHO of course ;) )

[Dmmetler]

Not saints, but in the Methodist church, John and Charles Wesley and Francis Asbury would be good people to add in. Susanna Wesley (mother of John and Charles) is also kind of a neat person to learn a bit about.

[MyLittleWonders]

There are saints for just about any day in the Catholic Church. 😀 Here is a great book that has two page spreads about a good number for kids. It goes chronological from the time of the Apostles and gives the feast date for each saint.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0829417850/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1419209325&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40

[mommaduck]

Not saints, but in the Methodist church, John and Charles Wesley and Francis Asbury would be good people to add in. Susanna Wesley (mother of John and Charles) is also kind of a neat person to learn a bit about.

"Last of two dozen or a quarter of a hundred."

[gardenmom5]

Latter-day Saints do not have "saints" day's.  (nor do we generally do feasts).   we do have a general conference two times per year (two two-hour meetings sat & sun.  used to be more. and a two-hour meeting for males over 12 sat night.  a two-hour meeting for females over 12 is the Saturday before conference)- the weekend with the first sunday of October and April.  it is carried live by BYU channel, and previous conference addresses are available in several formats at LDS.org.  Those we regard as a Prophet (currently Thomas S. Monson) and Apostles, and other leaders will speak on subjects they feel guided to address.

 

we celebrate Christmas, as the day generally set aside to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.  There is a general Christmas devotional broadcast the beginning of Dec. (and available at LDS.org)

 

and  Easter, the culmination of the events of the preceding week, of the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the last Supper, the Garden of Gethsemane (we consider it a *very* significant part of the atonement), the trial, Golgotha, and finally the resurrection and breaking the bands of death.

 

to learn more, Joseph Smith (whose birthday is dec. 23) is one to learn about.  Brigham Young (the picture of him with a beard is most often used - but he only had a beard for a short time) - sometimes called a modern day moses by historians because of leading the saints from the United States (and much religious persecution) into what was then Mexican territory to religious freedom. 

 

Ezra Taft Benson could also be a good one to learn about.  While he was an Apostle - he also served as US secretary of Agriculture for eight years under Dwight Eisenhower.  the *only* cabinet secretary to last all eight years.  He served as the president/prophet of the church from 1985 until his death in 1994.  his teachings will be the adult course of study two weeks a month in 2015  (in addition to sunday school where the 2015 course is the new testament every sunday.)

 

 

 

 

[Alessandra]

I just thought of a wonderful book for you. It's Festivals Together, a wonderful, multi-cultural book recommended in the Core Knowledge curriculum. The same publisher has Festivals, Family and Food, as well as All Year Round. Lots of Christian as well as other faiths. The books are featured in some Waldorf curricula -- see waldorfbooks.com.

 

It was actually speedmom's post above that reminded me of how ethnic and religious are related. The books above have ideas like kite flying on Michaelmas, traditions that are not strictly religious.

[Alessandra]

Here are some of my favorite Catholic saints:

 

St. Maximilian Kolbe (WW II)

St, Therese of Lisieux

St, Ignatius of Loyola

 

We also are adding special thigs to certain feast days like Our Lady of Guadalupe. There's a great blog by a Catholic mom who tries to live the liturgical year with her family. Her website is www.catholicallyear.com.

 

Anyway, to celebrate St. Joseph on March 19th we have an Italian dinner and put flowers around the table because of a tradition the Italians have.

 

For Our Lady of Guadalupe we had a Mexican desert but next year I want to plan better and make a Mexican feast!

 

There are lots of movies about saints as well. The Song of Bernadette is a well know one which earned the lead actress an Academy award back in the 1950s. The story of St. Bernadette is well known to many Catholics and millions of people flock to Lourdes each year!

 

Good luck on your journey. It's wonderful that you're exposing your daughter to many heroes of the faith!

 

Elise in NC

I should have quoted you in my post, above, because you reminded me of the ethnic connections.

[Dmmetler]

I have a cute things they say that this thread brought to mind. Our neighborhood has quite a few streets named "St. Someone". One day, when DD was a preschooler and reading everything in sight, we had this discussion in a car.

 

"mommy, what's a saint?"

 

"honey, a saint is someone, like the apostles, who did a really, really good job serving God and the church, so after they die, they are called "Saint" in recognition of this"

 

"Why's Elmo a saint?? he not dead!!"

 

Sure enough, we'd just turned onto St. Elmo road. I'm sure she was wondering where Oscar and Cookie Monster were!